Beagles are one of the top ten favorite family dogs in America. Their sweet faces and loyal and loving nature make them a perfect choice for homes with or without kids. Their small size and natural love of the outdoors makes them perfect partners for all kinds of adventures.

However, beagles – as a breed – do have a few traits that owners may find pretty irritating. First of all, they can be extremely stubborn, so it may take a little bit of extra work to train them. This also means that it can be harder to break habits. The second problematic breed trait is that they are loud! Beagles will bark, howl, growl and whine at – sometimes at seemingly nothing – driving everyone in the household crazy!

Why do they do this? And, more importantly, is there anything that you can do to make it stop! The answers are a bit complicated but the short response is that, yes, you can help curb this tendency in your beloved beagle.

Is It Normal for Beagles to Bark At Nothing?

As mentioned above, beagles are known for being fairly vocal dogs. So, yes, in most cases their excess vocalization is normal. The key is to understand when it is NOT and when to worry about it.

Typically, there’s always a reason behind beagle barking. It’s really their only way to communicate, but some causes are a lot harder to discern than others. Obviously barking can be used for pain, to express hunger or discomfort, to guard their homes, or to get attention, etc. But some beagles just bark simply because they like the sound of their own voice – a behavior you’ll definitely want to try and curb. 

Why are beagles so vocal?

They belong to a group of dogs that are called scent hounds. This means that they depend upon their noses to track down game or prey and then alert their handler. Therefore, their tendency is to alert everyone about everything all the time! Additionally, because they do tend to be stubborn, it can be difficult to redirect them from something that has their attention.

It can be a challenge to get a beagle fixated on barking or howling to forget about whatever it is that they were looking at. But with specific training methods and tools, you can definitely take his volume down a bit. 

What Could Be Reasons For Unexplained Barking?

If you already know what your beagle is barking at, great! If not, you’ll need to do a bit of detective work to figure out what has captured their attention or what they are trying to tell you. There is a long list of things that beagles might bark at, including:

• Distant noises

Just because you don’t hear something doesn’t mean that your beagle doesn’t hear it! Dogs have a keener sense of hearing than humans and are attuned to protecting their family and their home. Therefore, the slightest faraway sound that your beagle interprets as danger can set them off barking. They want you to know that something is going on!

This can be particularly annoying for beagle owners that live in big cities where there are distant noises happening every hour of the day and night. Read further for some tips on how to reduce these kinds of reactions to distant noises below.

• Allergies or irritation

If your beagle seems to be barking for no reason, first make sure that they are feeling okay. Look for other signs that they might not be feeling well such as scratching or biting their skin, sneezing or other signs of illness. If you notice any of these, a visit to the vet is probably in order.

Beagles can be particularly prone to skin allergies, and if the allergic reactions are severe enough, it can definitely lead to some barking simply out of distress.

• Barking for attention

Let’s be honest. Sometimes, your beagle just wants attention! Maybe they’re reminding you that it’s dinner time or maybe they’d just like some pats. Regardless, if you’re leaving your beagle alone for hours on end because of your job, it’s important to set aside time to give your beagle ample amounts of attention. Without it, they can tend to act out in a few different ways, and that includes unwanted barking. 

• Fleas or other bugs.

There’s nothing more irritating than being itchy and your beagle feels the same way! Fleas or other bug infestations will have your beagle vocalizing their complaints to you loudly.

If you notice some excessive itching going on, you should consult with a vet, as fleas can breed fairly quickly and take over your house! After applying the prescribed flea medication, you’ll probably want to deep clean your house as well to prevent them from affecting you and other members of your family.

• Underlying health issues

Although it is usually not the case, unexplained barking that does not seem to have any other cause could be a sign of underlying medical condition. If nothing seems to be working, it might be a good idea to see your vet. A lot of internal issues can be difficult to sense just by looking at your dog, so if they’re showing any signs of discomfort, going in for a general check up with your vet is a great idea. 

• Needing to go outside or to go potty

If you haven’t let your dog out in a while, they might just need a quick potty break. Dogs that have been fully potty trained tend to want to avoid accidents just as much as you want to avoid them, so listen to your dog and take them outside briefly just to make sure they haven’t been holding it in for too long. 

• Frustrated with loud noises

Whether it’s the TV, music, fireworks or other loud noises, your dog’s heightened sense of hearing can make such sounds unbearable. Do whatever you can to limit your dog’s exposure to loud noises and comfort them if you cannot stop them.

A lot of people will leave the TV on when they’re gone, because the audio is one way to help with separation anxiety and make your dog feel less lonely, however if it’s too loud it’ll just be annoying and alarming for your dog. What might be background noise to you could be unbearable for your beagle. 

• They caught a scent

Like I mentioned above, beagles are scent hounds, and are obsessed with tracking scents. If their nose catches a trail of something that they’re interested in, it can be hard for them to forget about it, even with redirection training. This is most commonly observed when beagles bark directly at the ground, as if they’ve found something.

If they’re stuck on a scent that might be outside, it could easily result in frustrated barking until they eventually forget about it.

How to Stop Your Beagle From Barking At Nothing

If you have determined that there is no medical cause or nothing that you can do to eliminate a cause of distress (such as letting your dog out or turning down the volume of an irritating noise), what can you do to get your beagle to stop barking? Try some of the following:

• Crating

It’s a good idea to crate train dogs from an early age so that they have somewhere safe and comforting to go when they are feeling overwhelmed. If your dog is older and is not yet crate-trained, it’s never too late! While it may seem lonely or sad to us, as humans, to go into an empty crate all alone, dogs are den animals. They find comfort in being in a more enclosed space and will often calm down when placed in their crate. You can make the crate a comfy and inviting place with soft blankets or pads and something for them to occupy themselves with. But most of the time, your beagle will calm down and go right to sleep!

It’s especially effective if you’re able to teach your beagle to enjoy their crate as their own personal space from a young age, which is why I recommend crate training, and fully covering it with a blanket, whenever your beagle puppy is having a barking fit.

• Give them some attention

Get down on your beagle’s level and give him or her some love and comfort. This is often enough to calm a beagle down and get him or her to cut out the barking. This will also give you a chance to take a good look at them and make sure that you don’t see signs of an injury or anything else that needs your attention.

If your beagle consistently craves more attention that you are simply able to give them, I recommend maybe looking into getting a second dog to be a companion for your pet. You can read more about the benefits of getting a second dog for your beagle here.

• Entertainment

Redirect your dog to something that he or she enjoys. While you want to be careful not to accidentally reinforce barking by rewarding it, you can give your dog a favorite toy, a puzzle game or some other activity that they like doing. If you have trained your dog with a quiet command, getting them to be quiet first, then giving them a toy will keep them from associating barking with fun. Your dog will be even happier if you get down and play their favorite game with them. Getting outside might also help, provided that you don’t think that they are reacting to something outside.

If you can’t take them outside, I wrote a guide on how to keep your beagle entertained while indoors.

You might also try to distract them by turning on low-volume, calming noise or music such as talk channels on television, white noise or quiet music. A lot of dogs are very comforted by these sounds. A calming sleep noise machine can be a great thing to have if you are the proud owner of a beagle who gets a bit too loud from time to time.

Other Tools to Stop Excessive Barking

Assuming that you have already trained your dog to obey a “quiet” command as well as other basic obedience skills, there are additional tools that you can use along with his training to help calm them down when they are vocalizing too much.

• Calming items

For anxious dogs, or dogs who are overly sensitive to sounds, a calming weighted vest such as a CozyVest can be a god send. They work by applying gentle body pressure that naturally calms dogs. You might also want to try calming sprays for dogs. If your dog enjoys chewing on things, find a sturdy, safe chew toy in a material that they can really dig into.

• Vibration collars

If all else fails, vibration collars can work to calm barking in many dogs. A vibration collar is a collar with a small box that emits an irritating vibration in response to the dog’s vocal cord movement. These should not be worn all the time and should be used in conjunction with training. Remember that it is natural for your dog to want to talk sometimes or to respond to their environment.

I tried using one with my beagle Maple as a puppy, it worked part of the time, but eventually she got used to the vibration and would simply bark through it. I’ve seen them work for other dogs, but I’d take these with a grain of salt. I suggest to try crate training first.

• Getting them a friend

I’ve found that having two dogs is way better than one! If your beagle is constantly barking at nothing and there doesn’t seem to be a way to prevent it, they behavior could be curbed by getting a second dog to keep your beagle company.

You can check out my recent guide on getting a second dog for your beagle here.

• Muzzles

These should also be used only in the short-term but can be good for situations that demand immediate quiet such as staying in a hotel or at a vet’s office where the sound may upset other animals.

Whatever methods you use to help calm your dog’s barking, just remember that it’s their only way of talking to you. Usually when a beagle barks, they are trying to convey information – whether they think that there is a threat to their family, they aren’t feeling well or they are just plain lonely!

For more tips, I highly recommend this video from Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution:

Final Thoughts

It is one hundred percent natural for your dog to alert you to danger and to try to talk to you. After all, you are your dog’s favorite person.

If all else fails, and you’ve run out of ideas to get your beagle to calm down, it’s probably time to consult with a trainer and or your veterinarian, who can help you figure out the best way to help you and your dog find some peace and quiet.